


A Day at the Beach

by Squidhead



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 17:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11673333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squidhead/pseuds/Squidhead
Summary: When Garrus and Thane are granted shore leave, they spend a day at the beach. Angst and fluff ensue.





	A Day at the Beach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninalanfer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninalanfer/gifts).



I had one hand firmly on a bottle of half drunk turian brandy and the other over the shoulders of the hottest man I had ever seen in my life. All of that was coupled with the fact that we were watching the sunset on a completely empty beach. In other words, that was as close to heaven as I will ever get.

"I cannot understand how you got us a week of leave." He said with a smile, reaching up to play with the collar of my shirt. Typically, his facial expressions were so quick you would miss them if you weren't looking, but either the booze or my company had left him vulnerable. Instead of the almost formal twitch at the corners of his lips, a bright smile radiated from him and his big black eyes glanced right at mine. That one look from him made me feel like my heart was going to overflow.

"I just pulled a few strings, no big deal." I said. I mentally cursed myself- of all the things I could have said, I picked that? Despite my fumbling, Thane just laughed. I stopped cringing at myself to lavish in the deep sound of his laughter, feeling his shoulders rise and fall underneath me.

"Just a few?" He asked while beaming.

"Well, Shepard laughed at first, but I managed to convince her." More hoarse laughter. I couldn't help but feel a smile stretch across my face as he snuggled closer to me, wrapping his arms around my sides.

"You _can_ be persuasive at times."

The butterflies seemed to rev up in my stomach before I decided to lean in and do the best impression of a kissy face I could do. As much as a Casanova as I was, the art of the Drell kiss still evaded me. Thane seemed to find it endearing instead of annoying, so I always let him take the lead.

Thane left a few gentle kisses on my lips before slipping one hand along the side of my face, along the scars. I shivered despite the warm weather and proximity- his fingers barley ghosted my skin, leaving me wanting even more. He teased me like this for a while and I let his hands go wherever they wanted to. I slipped my tongue into his mouth, tasting the fruity flavor of the drink he had just finished.

Thane let out a raspy moan and tensed up in surprise before fervently kissing me back. It felt like we went on like that for an eternity, melting at each other's touch. I would have given anything in the world to give us a couple more minutes on that beach.

Thane pulled back while panting. He refused to look me in the eyes as he got up off of me and started to cough. I always hated when the coughing would start. It would start off light, but soon after he would curl in on himself and his whole body would shake with exertion. When I first saw him, the whole attack would only last a minute. Now, they lasted ten minutes and took him twenty to recover.

He hated having other people see him like this. Not because he was weak, but because he knew how heart wrenching it was for us to watch. I was the only one he would allow to see him like this, and even then he would refuse to let me comfort him afterwards.

I walked over to where he was and put my hand on his back, trailing soft comforting circles down his spine. It was easy to forget how unhealthy he was. He pushed himself to the brink, always completing every mission given and worrying about everyone around him.

I'm pretty sure we were both thinking about his limited lifespan because neither of us felt like talking. We sat in the surf together until the sun had completely set and his breathing was back to normal. He took a deep breath in the silence.

"Should we get back to the hotel room? We can watch the vid you like with the ridiculous human pirates." I offered. Comedies usually cheered him up; they were good for distracting them from his thoughts.

"I'd prefer if we stayed out a little more. Perhaps we can watch it later tonight." 

Since the sun had set, the beach was starting to cool down. I busied myself by starting to build a fire, wandering around the beach haphazardly to find driftwood. After a day here, the sand started to seem less fun and more annoying. I had sand in each and every crack and I was slipping and sliding all over the place with my bare feet. Try as we might, Turians were just not made for sand. Thane seemed at home though, so I persevered and got a fire going.

When I looked back at him, he was deep in thought over something, almost mumbling to himself. No doubt he was lost in some memory again. I knew it was best not to bother him once he was this far gone- he was shivering. I picked up one of the beach towels and shook the sand off of it before draping it over his shoulders. Snapping out of it, he patted the sand next to him and I sat down next to him.

"I just remembered the first mission we went on together."

"Oh?"

Truth be told, I was skeptical about taking him in. It took a good solid half hour for Shepard to convince me he wasn't out to assassinate all of us. Once I finally let down my guard, she gave that conning smile and forced us both on a mission together. Unfortunately, Planet Clyria W6T was the destination. Clyria left dust in your eyes and a bad feeling in your gut. As I previously mentioned, Turians are not meant for sand. To top off the sand in my suit, Thane was prancing around with hardly a mask on, nimbly cracking skulls and shooting bulls eyes every which way. We were about ready to call it a day when a man we missed came sprinting towards my back, ready to kill me. Leaping into the air, Thane stabbed the man clear through his chest. Blood flew clear across the room and hit Shepard directly in the face. Both of us burst out laughing as she scowled.

"I'm glad she convinced you to trust me. My last year would have been meaningless had I not met you." He pulled the towel closer to him, still a little sullen.

"Something's up. What's wrong?"

He looked up at me, flashing me those big black eyes again. I just now started to notice how pale the red markings around his throat had become. He sunk into my side and I pulled my arm around him.

"I used to accept my death; not looking forward to it, but not caring of the days I spent anymore after my Irikah was taken. Now that I've met you, I don't retain the same indifference."

I could see his eyes staring to water and I pulled him closer to me. I didn't know how to comfort him, so I held him tight and refused to let go. We both knew these times were coming to an end, but I had stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.

I thought that war had made death easier. I thought seeing my friends killed directly in front of me as Archangel would make all other losses seem bearable. But when I had Thane wrapped up in my arms, scared to die, it felt like I was drowning.

I sat him upright and held his hands before leaning down and setting my forehead gently against his. Thane started crying and moved both his hands to cup both sides of my face.

"I know things are hard right now, and I'm not going to act like they aren't. I can promise you one thing, though. No matter what you go through and no matter how hard it gets, I will be right here for you."I said, pulling away to look at his face. He was still crying, but I could tell that my words helped him. We sat on the beach, comforting each comforting together.

Thane wiped the rest of the tears from his eyes.

"I love you, Garrus."

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! It was really fun to write and I had a blast writing for the 2017 Spec Rec Exchange!


End file.
